Seriously Funny Fighting Story
by KamikazePyro
Summary: Meh. How you find it funny is completely up to you.


"He's all right," said Rick, lifting Dominick into his arms. He carefully lifted him into the air and began carrying him to the car. He set Dominick onto the leather seat and slowly closed the door. He ran around the car to the driver's side and got in. He slammed the door quietly, not wanting to wake Dominick. He was worried that it might not be Dominick when he wakes up, it might be Dom, the evil spirit. He didn't want that to happen at all costs.  
"It's going to rain," said Mai. "We should hurry up and get home. I don't want to have to walk through the rain and get my hair wet." She primped her hair for a second with her left hand and then smiled in the rear-view mirror. She exhaled slowly.  
"You're one person I'll never understand, Mai," said Rick, starting the car and driving off.

Halfway through town it started to rain. The rain came down hard, and then harder, almost as if hail the size of golf balls were falling from the sky. It got so bad that Rick had to pull over the car at a rest area and wait for it to regress.  
"I guess we'll be staying here for a while," said Rick, sauntering out of the men's bathroom.  
"Why do you say that?" asked Mai.  
"The news said the rain was going to keep up for another hour at least," Rick said, coming over and standing next to Mai. "So, you wanna talk?"  
"About what?"  
"I don't know. Anything, I guess."  
Mai thought for a moment, and then said, "All right. Let's talk about..."  
"Hmmm....?"  
"...Nick," Mai said, smiling softly.  
Rick stooped down to a hunch and said, "Nick? Why him?"  
Mai shrugged her shoulders. "He's the one everyone's talking about lately. How he won a fight against three demons at once. How he defeated one of Zaron's elite guards last night. Really, he's the only thing to talk about."  
"Well, we could talk about us," said Rick, nudging Mai in the shoulder.  
Mai grinned and nudged him back. "Not on your life, tiger." She walked off toward the woman's bathroom.  
Rick watched her lovingly as she disappeared around the corner. "Ah...she makes me feel so happy to be human," he said, holding his chest where his heart was.

Mai came out of the bathroom primping her hair, and sat on the bench next to a stranger. The man didn't even look at her as she sat next to him. He just continued looking at his newspaper. He started humming tunelessly. Mai got agitated.  
"Could you stop humming please?" she asked politely. She murmured, "Or I'll have to stick my boot in your face..."  
"Oh, sorry," he said, not looking up at her. His face was still covered behind the newspaper, so Mai couldn't get a good look at him. Mai sat back and closed her eyes, trying to think of strategies to beat Rick, Dominick, and Nick if they were to fight in the City Nationals anytime soon.  
The man started humming again, tunelessly.  
Mai's eyebrow cringed from the tuneless humming. It was beginning to hurt her brain.  
"Hey, pal," she said, standing in front of him, her purple skirt in front of his newspaper. "If you don't stop that ridiculous humming, I'm going to-  
"You're going to what?" said the man, in a lower, more devilish voice. "Hurt me? Maybe stick a boot in my face? You wish."  
He continued humming tunelessly yet again, and Mai got fed up. She grabbed the newspaper and hurled it up into the air, finally revealing the man's face...  
It was a normal man. But something was different about him. He had a bad vibe about him. His personality seemed to change rather quickly...  
"Who-Who are you?" Rick said, gazing at him.  
The man quickly gathered his newspaper off the floor and huddled it between his big, thick arms. He tapped his sunglasses twice and wiggled his nose. He sniffed and, for what seemed like an eternity, gazed at Mai. His glasses gleamed in the light, his pupils unseen. He looked her up and down and licked his lips.  
"You're a feisty girl," he said. "Aren't you? Well, I guess I'll have to teach you some manners." He stood, and, grabbing Mai by the arm, he began pulling her close to him. As he did, white fanged teeth slid out from his mouth. She didn't notice the teeth slide out as she was pulled close.  
"Let go of me!" she screamed. She tugged at his shirt and finally slapped him across the face. But that didn't do any good. He only got madder. He tightened his grip and reached his head over her neck, baring his fangs.  
Rick slammed his fist into the man's skull, knocking his head away from her neck. He grabbed Mai as she fell and pulled her to the bench. Then he asked, "Are you all right?"  
She answered, "I'm fine."  
Rick looked up just as a foot smashed into his face. He lost his balance and fell backwards, hitting his head on a loose tile. The man shoved a knee into Rick's side and pushed down hard. Rick yelled in pain. But the man wouldn't stop. He went further into Rick's stomach. Rick could almost feel his intestines touching the man's kneecap. It hurt uncontrollably.  
"This'll teach you not to mess with Zaron," said the man. "I am his elite guard, and no one will stop me! Zaron hired me solely to destroy all of you with powers, so that's what I'm going to do! And you're first!"  
Rick screamed and wriggled under the man's body pressure. Then he jolted his hand up and smacked the man's head with the back of his hand. The man stumbled into the wall and slipped on a wet tile. He fell. Rick slowly got up and crawled over to Mai.  
Rick said, "We have to get out of here. That guy is one of Zaron's elite guards. We can't beat him alone." He held his stomach.  
Mai looked at Rick, and then at the man. She began to stand, but Rick pulled her back down. "You can't beat him!" he said to her.  
"I can try," she said, freeing herself of his grip and running toward the man. The man barely dodged her hard fist, and she turned back for another. She hit him dead in the nose, and he stumbled back. Then she lifted a boot and hit him in the knee. As he bent over she kneed him in the face. Blood spilt out of his nose.  
"I don't believe it," Rick said. "She's actually winning..."  
Mai back-handed him in the cheek, grabbed him, hoisted him over her shoulders, and tossed him into a wall. He almost hit, but then he teleported behind her and elbowed her in the back of the neck, knocking her unconscious. She didn't know what hit her.  
"Mai!" Rick said, running over to help her.  
The man looked at them with a grin. "You're pathetic. I could've beaten you with my hands tied behind my back if I wanted to."  
Rick looked up at him with a snarl and an irritated face. He thought about just punching the man in the soft spot, and then running, but he knew that wouldn't work. None of Zaron's men had soft spots, or weaknesses. Rick could only think of one thing to do.  
"You want a fight," he said. "Then let me show you a fight!" His Eye of Emotion lit up with blue mist, and a light wind began circling inside the room. A blue glow formed around Rick, and he began to change. A couple of spikes lifted up and his eyes went into shadows under his hair. He'd transformed into Ricky.  
The man took a step back, and found himself backed up to a wall. "Hey, wait a minute, here! Don't be too hasty! I was only fooling around about that Zaron stuff! I swear I don't work for him! Please, don't kill me!"  
Ricky stood almost five inches taller than the guy. He looked him in the eyes and smiled. He ducked down and blasted the man's stomach with a Light Beam. The man's green innards flew onto the wall. Ricky stood up and looked at the man, who wasn't very pleased with what he'd just done.  
"All right," the man said. "Say hello to Angry Edgar!" The man grew two whole feet and got three times buffer! Ricky backed away slowly and prepared for an extreme fight. Angry Edgar growled and then pounded a fist into the wall, breaking through several layers of bricks and one 3-inch plate of steel. Ricky's eyes widened in amazement. Maybe he couldn't win.  
Ricky flew up and threw a Light Orb at Angry Edgar's face. It blew up but Angry Edgar kept coming. Then Ricky shot a few Light blasts at him, but still had no luck. This guy was unbeatable!  
Ricky was desperate. He charged Angry Edgar and drilled right through his chest, hoping to kill Angry Edgar. But even that didn't work, for Angry Edgar just reformed his organs in seconds! Ricky didn't know what else to do. Angry Edgar did. He slammed Ricky into the wall with one mighty fist, and then began to stomp wildly. Ricky was getting trampled by Angry Edgar's humongous feet. He even began to hear his bones crack.  
Mai woke up, and saw what was happening. She didn't know what to do, but she thought of a plan anyway. "Ricky!" she yelled out to him.  
Even through all the pain and noise, Ricky heard Mai's scream. He turned his head toward her. She mouthed something to him, but he couldn't understand.  
"Ricky," she yelled. "Full power blast! It's the only way!"  
Ricky understood and turned to look at Angry Edgar. He rolled his eyes to the back of his head and yelled. Dozens of rays of Light energy shot out of Ricky, and sliced through Angry Edgar, knocking him right through the ceiling and out of the building. Bricks and concrete fell on Ricky.  
Mai ran to Ricky. He was all beat up. His clothes were torn, he was all bruised, his head was bleeding and his legs were badly damaged. He couldn't walk.  
Mai lifted him up and put his arm around her shoulder, dragging him along. She reached the door and kicked it open. The rain was coming down hard, but not as hard as before. She reached the car, where she set Ricky on the passenger seat. She got in the car and began to drive off. As she was driving, the rain started to get bad again. Ricky woke up and looked at Mai. She was drenched in rain.  
"Thank you," he said quietly. Mai looked over at him.  
"For what?"  
"Helping in the fight. Without you I would've been killed."  
Mai looked back at the road. Another rest area was coming up, but she wasn't going to risk it. She continued on through town. Ricky went back to sleep.

Back at home, Fujiko was practicing his new move: Mind Control. He practiced on a few birds with success. Then he asked to try on Nick, but Nick didn't accept it. Fujiko had to practice later then.  
"I wonder what's keeping Mai and the others so long," said Nick. He looked out the window at the long driveway to the house. "It should only take them fifteen minutes at the most to get here from the arena."  
"Unless they stopped because of the rain," said Fujiko. He looked out at the driveway also.  
A blue car pulled up the driveway and skidded to a stop in front of the house. Mai stepped out and began walking to the front door. Nick opened it. "Hey, Mai," he said.  
"I need your help," she quickly said. "Dominick and Ricky are hurt. Come on."  
Nick and Fujiko followed Mai to the car and brought Dominick and Ricky into the house. Fujiko set Dominick on the couch and Nick and Mai set Ricky on the other couch. Nick and Mai went into the kitchen to talk. Fujiko stayed in the family room.  
Dominick turned and fell off the couch. He didn't wake up, though. Ricky woke up silently. He looked around and yawned. "What happened?" asked Ricky. "Where's Mai? Is she all right?"  
"Relax, man," said Fujiko. "Mai is in the kitchen talking to Nick. Everything's going to be fine, all right? Just relax."  
Ricky let out a small breath and regressed back to Rick. Rick tried to get up, but his legs hurt tremendously, and he couldn't even move them. He squealed in pain, and fell back on the couch. Fujiko looked at him and asked, "Do you want some ice for that leg?"  
Rick shook his head. "I'm fine. I just want to talk to Mai."  
Fujiko looked back at the kitchen. Mai and Nick were having a drink and were still talking to each other. He got up and made his way to the kitchen door. He knocked twice.  
"What is it?" Nick asked.  
Fujiko answered, "Rick wants to talk to Mai. I think it's important."  
Mai looked at Nick. Nick nodded his head, and she left the kitchen.

"What do you need to talk about?" Mai asked Rick. "Is it about us?"  
Rick slowly nodded. "Just give it a chance. You know we make an awesome team, so why not take it a little further?"  
Mai sighed and sat on the couch next to him. "I don't think so. Besides, I already love someone else."  
Rick hesitated, and then said, "Well, when I get healed do you want to go out to eat?"  
Mai smiled. I'll do anything to learn this guy's strategy, she thought. I need to beat him in the National Championships in order to go to the World Championships.  
"Thanks," he said, and smiled back at her.  
What a hopeless romantic, she thought.  
She stood and walked away, down the hall.  
Rick grinned and gave an evil laugh. She doesn't suspect a thing, he thought.  
His Eye of Emotion glowed and Ricky's face appeared on Rick's. He found a new way of using people. Instead of fully transforming, he could exchange minds. It was a great way. All I need is a little time alone with her, he thought, and she'll be my slave! I'll control her mind in the City Nationals and defeat her in a snap! She won't even know what hit her...  
He laughed again, and sat up. He looked over at Dominick. And him-I'll think of something. I can't control his mind with that other spirit inside him. I'll just have to destroy him!

"I don't know what to do with her," said Nick. He sipped on his soda and sighed. "She's a perfect fighter. Her attack is vicious. Her defense, I think I can break through that. But her endurance is impenetrable. Every time you think she's down, she comes right back."  
"I know what you mean," said Fujiko, drinking his soda. "She's tough. She can't be intimidated, either."  
Mai walked in and sat in the chair across from Fujiko. Nick and Fujiko smiled at her and drank their sodas quietly. "When do you guys think he'll wake up?" she asked.  
"Who?" Fujiko asked.  
"Dominick," she said. "He's been out for almost three hours now. I'm starting to worry about him. Maybe something's wrong."  
"Maybe," said Nick, standing and walking to the door. "I'm going to go check on him."  
He walked out, and Fujiko followed.

Dominick was sitting up, watching TV, when Nick and Fujiko went in. Nick turned off the TV and asked Dominick if he was all right.  
"I'm fine," Dominick said. "I'm just a little shaken up. Though I don't really remember much. What happened to me?"  
Mai came in and said, "We were attacked near the arena. Some of Zaron's guards almost killed you. But Rick and I saved you."  
"Oh, thanks," he said. "But then what happened to Rick?"  
"He was attacked by one of Zaron's elite guards," Mai said. "The guard attacked me first and Rick saved me, but then Rick was attacked and badly injured. He transformed to Ricky but even that wasn't enough when the guard changed. Ricky used his full power energy blast to destroy him."  
Dominick looked at Rick, who was staring at Mai lovingly. "Jeez, Rick, you must really love Mai if you keep saving her."  
"She's a friend," Rick said softly. "And besides, we need her to destroy Zaron. Without her we would've already failed."  
Dominick looked at Rick's injuries and then at Fujiko. "Hey, Fujiko, why don't you just heal Rick with your powers?"  
Fujiko laughed and said, "Oops, I forgot I had healing powers!"  
Mai giggled and began walking toward the door. Dominick got up and followed her down the hall. In the meantime, Fujiko started healing Rick and Nick watched closely.

"Mai, where are you going?" Dominick asked.  
"I'm leaving," she answered.  
"To where?" Dominick looked in her eyes. She didn't answer. "Oh, I know where," he said.  
He opened the door and let her out. "Mai, let me come with you."  
She stopped and sighed. "Fine," she said. "You can come, but only because I feel sorry for you. Hurry up, I don't want the others to follow."  
Dominick hopped in the car and sat next to Mai. They drove off.

Nick sensed this and ran to the door just as they drove out of the driveway and onto the street. He exhaled and flew into the air. He thrust forward and flew toward the car. He managed to catch up, and Mai pulled the car into a ditch.  
"What do you want?" Mai asked. "If you didn't already know, Dominick and I are going somewhere to talk."  
Nick looked at Dominick and said, "What if Zaron attacks?"  
"Then we'll know," he said. "I can sense Zaron miles away if need be."  
"All right," said Nick. "See you later, Mai." He turned, but just as he did, an explosion stopped him. A lightning bolt struck right in front of him, and then a fire bomb blew up in Mai's car. Nick looked to the sky and saw two elite guards. He powered up and prepared to fight. Mai prepared to fight as well. Dominick powered up and prepared to fight, even though his right arm still hurt a little.  
One of the guards flew down and attacked. Nick took him. Then the other guard fell on top of Mai. Dominick kicked him off and helped her to her feet. They battled that guard.  
Nick blasted the guard in the face with a Dark Orb, and punched his gut. The guard blocked the Dark Orb but got hit with the left jab. Nick thrust his arm into the guard's stomach again, and again, until the guard caught one and kicked Nick in the face. Nick flew back. Then the guard shot numerous energy blasts and hit Nick with all of them. Nick teleported up and shot three Dark Orbs at the guard. One of them was about to hit, when the other guard blocked it. The two guards ganged up on Nick and started pummeling him.  
"Get off of him!" Dominick yelled, kicking one of the guards into the sky. He flew up and started blasting the guard with Fire Beams. The guard blocked a few and dodged the rest. Then he flew up to Dominick and kneed him in the stomach. Mai joined in and threw the guard on top of her burning car. He flew back up and blasted her with a Fire Blast. She fell down to the ground.  
Nick slammed into the guard and pile-drove him into a tree. Then he started blasting the guard with Dark Beams. "Chaos Beam!" he yelled, and blasted the guard. The guard just barely dodged the beam. While Nick was defenseless, the guard came up and threw a lightning bolt in his face. Nick fell down to the ground.  
Dominick did his best to fend against the two guards, but he was no match. He got thrown to the ground as well.  
Getting up, Nick said, "We can't beat them. We're not strong enough."  
Dominick said, "I know. Even if we work together on one guard, we'd still lose."  
Mai looked at the guards. "I think I know what to do." She looked at Dominick and Nick with a determined look, the look she only got when she was desperate.  
"What's your plan?" asked Dominick.  
Nick said, "Does it have anything to do with the twenty-seven magical items?"  
Mai nodded. "The only way I can think of to beat these guys...is your dark sides."  
Dominick said, "What? Are you crazy? I can't control my dark side! If I unleash it, there's no telling what it'll do!"  
Mai said, "It's the only option left now."  
Nick nodded slowly. He held his item in his hand and said a weird word. His item began to glow gold, and he transformed to his dark side.  
Dominick hesitated, but transformed anyway. Two wing-like spikes lifted on his head, his eyes went into shadow, his smile turned from worry to evil, and he gave a little laugh. "I'm back!" he said. "Now, I'll destroy you!" He teleported over to Mai and looked at her with his evil face.  
Nick grinned evilly and looked up at the guards. His evil grin faded and turned into an annoyed frown.  
Dom looked at Mai's face with his evil grin.  
"Wait, you can't destroy me!" she cried. "Please, no!"  
Dom grew closer and lifted his hand to face the guards. Nick gazed at them and laughed. Mai fell to her knees as an energy blast formed around Dom's hand. Dom let out a dark laugh and then shot the energy blast at one of the guards. The guard blocked and looked at him curiously.  
Mai cautiously stood and said, "But...I thought..."  
"I'll choose when you die!" Dom said, smiling. "Not some stupid weightlifters from hell!"  
Mai let out a sigh of relief and caution at the same time. Dom quickly shifted his gaze to the guard, who was slowly descending down to them. He turned his body completely and put one hand in his pocket. "You must be one of the stupid weightlifters, right?" Dom said coolly.  
The guard growled and threw out a fist. Dom smiled and ducked under the fist, tripping the guard. "You're weak," he said. He punched the guard in the face and threw him into the dirt. The other guard flew down and was about to attack when Nick intercepted the attack and started fast-fighting the guard. The guard was too slow and couldn't keep up, and Nick easily obliterated him. Dom put a hand in front of the guard's face and started laughing hysterically.  
"Fool!" he yelled. "Did you honestly think you could beat me? I am the evil within! I can't be defeated! Ha ha ha ha!"  
He blasted the guard into shreds, laughing even harder. He stopped laughing to turn and look at Nick. Nick looked at him. Their faces turned like a stone, with no emotion. Nick and Dom slowly reached their hands out, and shook. Dom's eyes went into shadows, and he smiled evilly. Nick's eyes went into shadows, and he thought, fool...  
They unhooked hands, and turned to face Mai. Dom said, "Don't think I'm one of the good guys just because I destroyed some fellow bad guys! You're wrong! And don't think you've seen the last of me, either! I'll be back to finish you off!" Dom regressed back to Dominick.  
Nick said, "I will be back as well, and next time I will be the one finishing you off!" He regressed back to the good Nick. Nick and Dominick looked at each other and then at Mai.  
"Did my dark side hurt you?" Nick asked.  
Mai shook her head and stood up. She brushed herself off and began walking down the street. Dominick and Nick followed her. Nick ran and scooped up Mai in his arms. He took off in the air. Dominick followed.  
"If you're trying to impress me it's not working," Mai said to Nick.  
"I wasn't trying to," Nick replied.  
"Hurry, we have to get to the arena," Dominick said. "If we're too late, then we won't get to see who made it to the finals."  
"Oh, so that's where we're going," Nick said, flying faster.

The finals were in their ending stages when the three got there. It was Darren and Mike battling each other. It looked like Mike was winning, because he had more speed. But Darren had good blocking, and he blocked most of Mike's attacks, despite Mike's superior speed. The battle was tied, with both Darren and Mike knocking each other out cold.  
"Well, that saves me a lot of trouble," said Mai, walking off.  
"Yeah, now we won't have to worry about those two," said Dominick, walking with Mai.  
Nick stayed back and watched the paramedics clean up the mess.  
"Are you coming?" Mai asked.  
"You guys go ahead," replied Nick. "I'm going to stay and check things out first."  
Dominick and Mai walked off. Nick watched Mike get lifted to his feet and thrown onto a paramedic stretcher. He was dragged to his room.  
Nick's item glowed for a second, and the evil Nick appeared. He teleported down to Mike's door and kicked it open. Mike was still out cold. The paramedics tried to stop Nick, but Nick froze them with his ice powers. He stood, hovering over Mike, gazing at Mike's magical object: the All-seeing Eye. Nick grinned mischievously, reached his hand out, and grabbed the eye from Mike's forehead...

Back outside, Mai and Dominick were checking the times for the next City Nationals match. It wasn't until tomorrow at noon. The match was Fujiko vs. Rick. Dominick said, "I hope Rick is feeling better. I want to see a full-on fight!"  
"You're going to get a full-on fight," said Nick, entering the area. "If you fight me!"  
Dominick smiled and said, "I can't wait!"  
Mai said, "If either of you fight me, you'll wish you were never born."  
Nick said, "You wish."  
"Let's go train," Dominick said, lifting Mai and flying away. Nick followed.  
They flew back to the house, where Fujiko and Rick were training.  
"Who's winning?" asked Nick.  
Fujiko blocked an energy blast and said, "I am. But when you have healing powers, you can't lose!" He flew into the air and body-slammed Rick.  
"I've never seen Rick fight like this," Dominick said, watching as Rick fought. "He seems more determined. I wonder if him losing against that guard made him think he was inferior to us."  
"Not a chance," said Mai. "I know Rick, and he would never think that. He's got a lot of pride, but he'd never change his fighting style just to make himself look better."  
Dominick walked back inside and flipped on the TV. Mai went in with him and sat next to him on the couch.  
"Are you tired?" he asked her.  
"No. Why?"  
"Just asking."  
He sighed and said, "What's going to happen to us in the tournament, Mai?"  
"What do you mean? I'm going to beat you all and advance to the World Championships. I don't know about you guys." She flipped back her hair and lay on the couch.  
Dominick sighed and turned the TV off.

The next day came faster than anyone thought it would. Dominick and Fujiko went to the arena early to get good seats for the group. Nick, Rick, and Mai were getting ready. Nick was in the kitchen eating some breakfast and Rick was spiking up his hair. Mai was getting her hair ready too. When they were done they went to the arena. Dominick and Fujiko greeted them and showed them where their seats were. They were VIP seats, in front of the front row seats.  
"Fighters!!!!" yelled the referee at the top of his lungs. "ARE YOU READY?!!"  
The bell for the finals rang, and Fujiko and Rick stepped down to the arena.  
"Good luck, guys," Mai said. "You'll need it."  
Fujiko and Rick stood in the arena, and then two more people went in.  
"It appears there's been a slight change of plans!!" yelled the ref. "The match between Fujiko and Rick has been changed! It is currently a two-on-two match!! Fujiko & Rick vs. Michael & Samantha!! Are you ready?"  
"I guess we'll have to fight in the World Championships, then," said Fujiko, smiling. Rick smiled back and then looked at Michael and Samantha. They looked pretty easy. But then Rick noticed something about Michael. He was a demon in disguise! Rick was going to tell Fujiko, but he knew it wouldn't make a difference. So he just got in his fighting stance and prepared for a fight.  
"FIGHT!!!" screamed the ref.  
Michael dashed at Fujiko and tackled him. While Rick was about to help Fujiko, Samantha tackled him and started pummeling him. Rick kicked her off and hit her with a Light-punch. She came back and threw a Dark-punch at him. Fujiko helped by kicking her in the jaw. Then Michael slammed Fujiko into the dirt floor.  
Rick smacked Samantha and blasted her with a Light Orb. She fell back and dissolved into little particles. Then Rick went after Michael.  
"Wow, folks!" the ref said. "Rick has just destroyed Samantha in a dazzling move!"  
Fujiko and Rick pounded Michael into the dirt floor and blasted him with their special moves. But he wouldn't be destroyed for some reason. Then Fujiko saw one of the magical items in Michael's hand: the Orb of Invincibility. That meant that no matter what they did, Fujiko and Rick couldn't destroy Michael. Michael came back with a ferocious assault, clobbering Fujiko in the head with a punishing fist. Fujiko healed himself and fought again. Rick tried blocking Michael's attacks, but it was no use.  
"We have to get that Orb of Invincibility!" Rick yelled, lunging for Michael's hand. He grabbed it and held it down. "Now, Fujiko! Blast it!"  
Fujiko blasted the Orb out of Michael's hand and stuffed it in his pocket. Then he and Rick joined attacks and destroyed Michael.  
"Fujiko & Rick win!!" yelled the ref.

The World Championships are here...

The World Championships were here, and the group was fully prepared for them. Dominick and Nick had trained for hours straight, Rick meditated, Mai went off to do her own thing, and Fujiko practiced his new moves. A month went by with non-stop training, and what an eventful month it was.  
First there were seven separate Zaron attacks in the city. Three of them involved Zaron himself, and the other four were demons and evil monsters. After Zaron was beaten by the group, he absorbed all of his elite guards and became four times as powerful. "You can't beat me on your own," he told them. That's when the group started their extreme training.  
Second, there was a weird festival going on all week one week, and some of Zaron's demons captured some people. Dominick and Nick went in to rescue the people, but they were defeated by Zaron himself. They almost were killed, but Fujiko healed them and teleported outside. Zaron surprisingly freed the people, and destroyed all of his demons. But then he summoned an even stronger breed-elite demons. The elite demons were twice as strong as the normal demons, and they started destroying part of the city. Mai, Rick, and Fujiko stopped them by themselves when Nick and Dominick were mysteriously transported to another planet called Karr.  
Third, there was a mini-tournament downtown. The group was invited to supervise and be like a security team if things got out of hand. Things got out of hand quickly when twenty-five elite demons attacked. Mai and Fujiko were transported to Zaron's layer. Rick tried to stop them, but he was destroyed. Dominick and Nick transformed to their dark sides and freed Mai and Fujiko from Zaron...  
Zaron was enraged and challenged Dom and Nick to a fight. Dom declined but Nick accepted. He fought Zaron and was beaten badly. Dom rescued Nick and transported everyone to safety. Nick regressed to the good Nick, and Fujiko healed him. Dom regressed to Dominick and started searching for the Dragon Gems, the only thing that could revive Rick.  
They found nine of the ten Gems, but the tenth one was hidden inside a museum. Nick teleported in and stole it. They wished Rick back to life. Everyone started training harder, and Mai learned to fly, form energy shields, and form energy blasts. The group finished training a week before the World Championships were set to begin. During that week, Dominick spent his time with a girl named Ashley. Nick also found a girl and spent his time with her. Mai went off to do something unknown, and Rick and Fujiko continued training.

The World Championships were set to be played out on Saturday, March 15, 2005. They were supposed to be held on an airplane, but the owner of the tournament, and the current champ, Fredrick, decided to have the tournament on an open battlefield in the middle of the desert. He said that many of the fights were going to need lots of space.  
The group arrived at the tournament just in time. The standings were being posted. Fredrick was #1, Fujiko was #2, Nick was #3, Dominick was #4, Mai was #5, Rick was #6, and there were some other weird fighters at the field. One looked like an ancient Egyptian. Another looked like a weightlifter, and another looked like an Indian that hadn't eaten in five years.  
"The standings will now be chosen!" Mr. Yak said, pushing a button. A wide cylinder appeared at his side, and he took all of the spheres from the fighters and placed them in the cylinder. He pushed another button, and the spheres began jumping around like Crazy-Beans. Two spheres dropped out and Mr. Yak picked them up. "The first match will be held between #3 and #8!"  
"Who is number 8?" Nick asked. He looked around and the Indian guy was raising his hand.  
"I am the one you call number 8," he replied, meditating. "I will fight you now."  
Nick and number 8 were sent to the battlefield, and the rest of the fighters stood around and watched.

"He's all right," said Rick, lifting Dominick into his arms. He carefully lifted him into the air and began carrying him to the car. He set Dominick onto the leather seat and slowly closed the door. He ran around the car to the driver's side and got in. He slammed the door quietly, not wanting to wake Dominick. He was worried that it might not be Dominick when he wakes up, it might be Dom, the evil spirit. He didn't want that to happen at all costs.

"It's going to rain," said Mai. "We should hurry up and get home. I don't want to have to walk through the rain and get my hair wet." She primped her hair for a second with her left hand and then smiled in the rear-view mirror. She exhaled slowly.

"You're one person I'll never understand, Mai," said Rick, starting the car and driving off.

Halfway through town it started to rain. The rain came down hard, and then harder, almost as if hail the size of golf balls were falling from the sky. It got so bad that Rick had to pull over the car at a rest area and wait for it to regress.

"I guess we'll be staying here for a while," said Rick, sauntering out of the men's bathroom.

"Why do you say that?" asked Mai.

"The news said the rain was going to keep up for another hour at least," Rick said, coming over and standing next to Mai. "So, you wanna talk?"

"About what?"

"I don't know. Anything, I guess."

Mai thought for a moment, and then said, "All right. Let's talk about…"

"Hmmm….?"

"…Nick," Mai said, smiling softly.

Rick stooped down to a hunch and said, "Nick? Why him?"

Mai shrugged her shoulders. "He's the one everyone's talking about lately. How he won a fight against three demons at once. How he defeated one of Zaron's elite guards last night. Really, he's the only thing to talk about."

"Well, we could talk about us," said Rick, nudging Mai in the shoulder.

Mai grinned and nudged him back. "Not on your life, tiger." She walked off toward the woman's bathroom.

Rick watched her lovingly as she disappeared around the corner. "Ah…she makes me feel so happy to be human," he said, holding his chest where his heart was.

Mai came out of the bathroom primping her hair, and sat on the bench next to a stranger. The man didn't even look at her as she sat next to him. He just continued looking at his newspaper. He started humming tunelessly. Mai got agitated.

"Could you stop humming please?" she asked politely. She murmured, "Or I'll have to stick my boot in your face…"

"Oh, sorry," he said, not looking up at her. His face was still covered behind the newspaper, so Mai couldn't get a good look at him. Mai sat back and closed her eyes, trying to think of strategies to beat Rick, Dominick, and Nick if they were to fight in the City Nationals anytime soon.

The man started humming again, tunelessly.

Mai's eyebrow cringed from the tuneless humming. It was beginning to hurt her brain.

"Hey, pal," she said, standing in front of him, her purple skirt in front of his newspaper. "If you don't stop that ridiculous humming, I'm going to—

"You're going to what?" said the man, in a lower, more devilish voice. "Hurt me? Maybe stick a boot in my face? You wish."

He continued humming tunelessly yet again, and Mai got fed up. She grabbed the newspaper and hurled it up into the air, finally revealing the man's face…

It was a normal man. But something was different about him. He had a bad vibe about him. His personality seemed to change rather quickly…

"Who-Who are you?" Rick said, gazing at him.

The man quickly gathered his newspaper off the floor and huddled it between his big, thick arms. He tapped his sunglasses twice and wiggled his nose. He sniffed and, for what seemed like an eternity, gazed at Mai. His glasses gleamed in the light, his pupils unseen. He looked her up and down and licked his lips.

"You're a feisty girl," he said. "Aren't you? Well, I guess I'll have to teach you some manners." He stood, and, grabbing Mai by the arm, he began pulling her close to him. As he did, white fanged teeth slid out from his mouth. She didn't notice the teeth slide out as she was pulled close.

"Let go of me!" she screamed. She tugged at his shirt and finally slapped him across the face. But that didn't do any good. He only got madder. He tightened his grip and reached his head over her neck, baring his fangs.

Rick slammed his fist into the man's skull, knocking his head away from her neck. He grabbed Mai as she fell and pulled her to the bench. Then he asked, "Are you all right?"

She answered, "I'm fine."

Rick looked up just as a foot smashed into his face. He lost his balance and fell backwards, hitting his head on a loose tile. The man shoved a knee into Rick's side and pushed down hard. Rick yelled in pain. But the man wouldn't stop. He went further into Rick's stomach. Rick could almost feel his intestines touching the man's kneecap. It hurt uncontrollably.

"This'll teach you not to mess with Zaron," said the man. "I am his elite guard, and no one will stop me! Zaron hired me solely to destroy all of you with powers, so that's what I'm going to do! And you're first!"

Rick screamed and wriggled under the man's body pressure. Then he jolted his hand up and smacked the man's head with the back of his hand. The man stumbled into the wall and slipped on a wet tile. He fell. Rick slowly got up and crawled over to Mai.

Rick said, "We have to get out of here. That guy is one of Zaron's elite guards. We can't beat him alone." He held his stomach.

Mai looked at Rick, and then at the man. She began to stand, but Rick pulled her back down. "You can't beat him!" he said to her.

"I can try," she said, freeing herself of his grip and running toward the man. The man barely dodged her hard fist, and she turned back for another. She hit him dead in the nose, and he stumbled back. Then she lifted a boot and hit him in the knee. As he bent over she kneed him in the face. Blood spilt out of his nose.

"I don't believe it," Rick said. "She's actually winning…"

Mai back-handed him in the cheek, grabbed him, hoisted him over her shoulders, and tossed him into a wall. He almost hit, but then he teleported behind her and elbowed her in the back of the neck, knocking her unconscious. She didn't know what hit her.

"Mai!" Rick said, running over to help her.

The man looked at them with a grin. "You're pathetic. I could've beaten you with my hands tied behind my back if I wanted to."

Rick looked up at him with a snarl and an irritated face. He thought about just punching the man in the soft spot, and then running, but he knew that wouldn't work. None of Zaron's men had soft spots, or weaknesses. Rick could only think of one thing to do.

"You want a fight," he said. "Then let me show you a fight!" His Eye of Emotion lit up with blue mist, and a light wind began circling inside the room. A blue glow formed around Rick, and he began to change. A couple of spikes lifted up and his eyes went into shadows under his hair. He'd transformed into Ricky.

The man took a step back, and found himself backed up to a wall. "Hey, wait a minute, here! Don't be too hasty! I was only fooling around about that Zaron stuff! I swear I don't work for him! Please, don't kill me!"

Ricky stood almost five inches taller than the guy. He looked him in the eyes and smiled. He ducked down and blasted the man's stomach with a Light Beam. The man's green innards flew onto the wall. Ricky stood up and looked at the man, who wasn't very pleased with what he'd just done.

"All right," the man said. "Say hello to _Angry Edgar_!" The man grew two whole feet and got three times buffer! Ricky backed away slowly and prepared for an extreme fight. Angry Edgar growled and then pounded a fist into the wall, breaking through several layers of bricks and one 3-inch plate of steel. Ricky's eyes widened in amazement. Maybe he couldn't win.

Ricky flew up and threw a Light Orb at Angry Edgar's face. It blew up but Angry Edgar kept coming. Then Ricky shot a few Light blasts at him, but still had no luck. This guy was unbeatable!

Ricky was desperate. He charged Angry Edgar and drilled right through his chest, hoping to kill Angry Edgar. But even that didn't work, for Angry Edgar just reformed his organs in seconds! Ricky didn't know what else to do. Angry Edgar did. He slammed Ricky into the wall with one mighty fist, and then began to stomp wildly. Ricky was getting trampled by Angry Edgar's humongous feet. He even began to hear his bones crack.

Mai woke up, and saw what was happening. She didn't know what to do, but she thought of a plan anyway. "Ricky!" she yelled out to him.

Even through all the pain and noise, Ricky heard Mai's scream. He turned his head toward her. She mouthed something to him, but he couldn't understand.

"Ricky," she yelled. "Full power blast! It's the only way!"

Ricky understood and turned to look at Angry Edgar. He rolled his eyes to the back of his head and yelled. Dozens of rays of Light energy shot out of Ricky, and sliced through Angry Edgar, knocking him right through the ceiling and out of the building. Bricks and concrete fell on Ricky.

Mai ran to Ricky. He was all beat up. His clothes were torn, he was all bruised, his head was bleeding and his legs were badly damaged. He couldn't walk.

Mai lifted him up and put his arm around her shoulder, dragging him along. She reached the door and kicked it open. The rain was coming down hard, but not as hard as before. She reached the car, where she set Ricky on the passenger seat. She got in the car and began to drive off. As she was driving, the rain started to get bad again. Ricky woke up and looked at Mai. She was drenched in rain.

"Thank you," he said quietly. Mai looked over at him.

"For what?"

"Helping in the fight. Without you I would've been killed."

Mai looked back at the road. Another rest area was coming up, but she wasn't going to risk it. She continued on through town. Ricky went back to sleep.

Back at home, Fujiko was practicing his new move: Mind Control. He practiced on a few birds with success. Then he asked to try on Nick, but Nick didn't accept it. Fujiko had to practice later then.

"I wonder what's keeping Mai and the others so long," said Nick. He looked out the window at the long driveway to the house. "It should only take them fifteen minutes at the most to get here from the arena."

"Unless they stopped because of the rain," said Fujiko. He looked out at the driveway also.

A blue car pulled up the driveway and skidded to a stop in front of the house. Mai stepped out and began walking to the front door. Nick opened it. "Hey, Mai," he said.

"I need your help," she quickly said. "Dominick and Ricky are hurt. Come on."

Nick and Fujiko followed Mai to the car and brought Dominick and Ricky into the house. Fujiko set Dominick on the couch and Nick and Mai set Ricky on the other couch. Nick and Mai went into the kitchen to talk. Fujiko stayed in the family room.

Dominick turned and fell off the couch. He didn't wake up, though. Ricky woke up silently. He looked around and yawned. "What happened?" asked Ricky. "Where's Mai? Is she all right?"

"Relax, man," said Fujiko. "Mai is in the kitchen talking to Nick. Everything's going to be fine, all right? Just relax."

Ricky let out a small breath and regressed back to Rick. Rick tried to get up, but his legs hurt tremendously, and he couldn't even move them. He squealed in pain, and fell back on the couch. Fujiko looked at him and asked, "Do you want some ice for that leg?"

Rick shook his head. "I'm fine. I just want to talk to Mai."

Fujiko looked back at the kitchen. Mai and Nick were having a drink and were still talking to each other. He got up and made his way to the kitchen door. He knocked twice.

"What is it?" Nick asked.

Fujiko answered, "Rick wants to talk to Mai. I think it's important."

Mai looked at Nick. Nick nodded his head, and she left the kitchen.

"What do you need to talk about?" Mai asked Rick. "Is it about us?"

Rick slowly nodded. "Just give it a chance. You know we make an awesome team, so why not take it a little further?"

Mai sighed and sat on the couch next to him. "I don't think so. Besides, I already love someone else."

Rick hesitated, and then said, "Well, when I get healed do you want to go out to eat?"

Mai smiled. _I'll do anything to learn this guy's strategy_, she thought. _I need to beat him in the National Championships in order to go to the World Championships._

"Thanks," he said, and smiled back at her.

_What a hopeless romantic_, she thought.

She stood and walked away, down the hall.

Rick grinned and gave an evil laugh. _She doesn't suspect a thing_, he thought.

His Eye of Emotion glowed and Ricky's face appeared on Rick's. He found a new way of using people. Instead of fully transforming, he could exchange minds. It was a great way. _All I need is a little time alone with her_, he thought, _and she'll be my slave!_ _I'll control her mind in the City Nationals and defeat her in a snap! She won't even know what hit her…_

He laughed again, and sat up. He looked over at Dominick. _And him—I'll think of something. I can't control his mind with that other spirit inside him. I'll just have to destroy him!_

"I don't know what to do with her," said Nick. He sipped on his soda and sighed. "She's a perfect fighter. Her attack is vicious. Her defense, I think I can break through that. But her endurance is impenetrable. Every time you think she's down, she comes right back."

"I know what you mean," said Fujiko, drinking his soda. "She's tough. She can't be intimidated, either."

Mai walked in and sat in the chair across from Fujiko. Nick and Fujiko smiled at her and drank their sodas quietly. "When do you guys think he'll wake up?" she asked.

"Who?" Fujiko asked.

"Dominick," she said. "He's been out for almost three hours now. I'm starting to worry about him. Maybe something's wrong."

"Maybe," said Nick, standing and walking to the door. "I'm going to go check on him."

He walked out, and Fujiko followed.

Dominick was sitting up, watching TV, when Nick and Fujiko went in. Nick turned off the TV and asked Dominick if he was all right.

"I'm fine," Dominick said. "I'm just a little shaken up. Though I don't really remember much. What happened to me?"

Mai came in and said, "We were attacked near the arena. Some of Zaron's guards almost killed you. But Rick and I saved you."

"Oh, thanks," he said. "But then what happened to Rick?"

"He was attacked by one of Zaron's elite guards," Mai said. "The guard attacked me first and Rick saved me, but then Rick was attacked and badly injured. He transformed to Ricky but even that wasn't enough when the guard changed. Ricky used his full power energy blast to destroy him."

Dominick looked at Rick, who was staring at Mai lovingly. "Jeez, Rick, you must really love Mai if you keep saving her."

"She's a friend," Rick said softly. "And besides, we need her to destroy Zaron. Without her we would've already failed."

Dominick looked at Rick's injuries and then at Fujiko. "Hey, Fujiko, why don't you just heal Rick with your powers?"

Fujiko laughed and said, "Oops, I forgot I had healing powers!"

Mai giggled and began walking toward the door. Dominick got up and followed her down the hall. In the meantime, Fujiko started healing Rick and Nick watched closely.

"Mai, where are you going?" Dominick asked.

"I'm leaving," she answered.

"To where?" Dominick looked in her eyes. She didn't answer. "Oh, I know where," he said.

He opened the door and let her out. "Mai, let me come with you."

She stopped and sighed. "Fine," she said. "You can come, but only because I feel sorry for you. Hurry up, I don't want the others to follow."

Dominick hopped in the car and sat next to Mai. They drove off.

Nick sensed this and ran to the door just as they drove out of the driveway and onto the street. He exhaled and flew into the air. He thrust forward and flew toward the car. He managed to catch up, and Mai pulled the car into a ditch.

"What do you want?" Mai asked. "If you didn't already know, Dominick and I are going somewhere to talk."

Nick looked at Dominick and said, "What if Zaron attacks?"

"Then we'll know," he said. "I can sense Zaron miles away if need be."

"All right," said Nick. "See you later, Mai." He turned, but just as he did, an explosion stopped him. A lightning bolt struck right in front of him, and then a fire bomb blew up in Mai's car. Nick looked to the sky and saw two elite guards. He powered up and prepared to fight. Mai prepared to fight as well. Dominick powered up and prepared to fight, even though his right arm still hurt a little.

One of the guards flew down and attacked. Nick took him. Then the other guard fell on top of Mai. Dominick kicked him off and helped her to her feet. They battled that guard.

Nick blasted the guard in the face with a Dark Orb, and punched his gut. The guard blocked the Dark Orb but got hit with the left jab. Nick thrust his arm into the guard's stomach again, and again, until the guard caught one and kicked Nick in the face. Nick flew back. Then the guard shot numerous energy blasts and hit Nick with all of them. Nick teleported up and shot three Dark Orbs at the guard. One of them was about to hit, when the other guard blocked it. The two guards ganged up on Nick and started pummeling him.

"Get off of him!" Dominick yelled, kicking one of the guards into the sky. He flew up and started blasting the guard with Fire Beams. The guard blocked a few and dodged the rest. Then he flew up to Dominick and kneed him in the stomach. Mai joined in and threw the guard on top of her burning car. He flew back up and blasted her with a Fire Blast. She fell down to the ground.

Nick slammed into the guard and pile-drove him into a tree. Then he started blasting the guard with Dark Beams. "Chaos Beam!" he yelled, and blasted the guard. The guard just barely dodged the beam. While Nick was defenseless, the guard came up and threw a lightning bolt in his face. Nick fell down to the ground.

Dominick did his best to fend against the two guards, but he was no match. He got thrown to the ground as well.

Getting up, Nick said, "We can't beat them. We're not strong enough."

Dominick said, "I know. Even if we work together on one guard, we'd still lose."

Mai looked at the guards. "I think I know what to do." She looked at Dominick and Nick with a determined look, the look she only got when she was desperate.

"What's your plan?" asked Dominick.

Nick said, "Does it have anything to do with the twenty-seven magical items?"

Mai nodded. "The only way I can think of to beat these guys…is your dark sides."

Dominick said, "What? Are you crazy? I can't control my dark side! If I unleash it, there's no telling what it'll do!"

Mai said, "It's the only option left now."

Nick nodded slowly. He held his item in his hand and said a weird word. His item began to glow gold, and he transformed to his dark side.

Dominick hesitated, but transformed anyway. Two wing-like spikes lifted on his head, his eyes went into shadow, his smile turned from worry to evil, and he gave a little laugh. "I'm back!" he said. "Now, I'll destroy you!" He teleported over to Mai and looked at her with his evil face.

Nick grinned evilly and looked up at the guards. His evil grin faded and turned into an annoyed frown.

Dom looked at Mai's face with his evil grin.

"Wait, you can't destroy me!" she cried. "Please, no!"

Dom grew closer and lifted his hand to face the guards. Nick gazed at them and laughed. Mai fell to her knees as an energy blast formed around Dom's hand. Dom let out a dark laugh and then shot the energy blast at one of the guards. The guard blocked and looked at him curiously.

Mai cautiously stood and said, "But…I thought…"

"I'll choose when you die!" Dom said, smiling. "Not some stupid weightlifters from hell!"

Mai let out a sigh of relief and caution at the same time. Dom quickly shifted his gaze to the guard, who was slowly descending down to them. He turned his body completely and put one hand in his pocket. "You must be one of the stupid weightlifters, right?" Dom said coolly.

The guard growled and threw out a fist. Dom smiled and ducked under the fist, tripping the guard. "You're weak," he said. He punched the guard in the face and threw him into the dirt. The other guard flew down and was about to attack when Nick intercepted the attack and started fast-fighting the guard. The guard was too slow and couldn't keep up, and Nick easily obliterated him. Dom put a hand in front of the guard's face and started laughing hysterically.

"Fool!" he yelled. "Did you honestly think you could beat me? I am the evil within! I can't be defeated! Ha ha ha ha!"

He blasted the guard into shreds, laughing even harder. He stopped laughing to turn and look at Nick. Nick looked at him. Their faces turned like a stone, with no emotion. Nick and Dom slowly reached their hands out, and shook. Dom's eyes went into shadows, and he smiled evilly. Nick's eyes went into shadows, and he thought, _fool…_

They unhooked hands, and turned to face Mai. Dom said, "Don't think I'm one of the good guys just because I destroyed some fellow bad guys! You're wrong! And don't think you've seen the last of me, either! I'll be back to finish you off!" Dom regressed back to Dominick.

Nick said, "I will be back as well, and next time _I_ will be the one finishing you off!" He regressed back to the good Nick. Nick and Dominick looked at each other and then at Mai.

"Did my dark side hurt you?" Nick asked.

Mai shook her head and stood up. She brushed herself off and began walking down the street. Dominick and Nick followed her. Nick ran and scooped up Mai in his arms. He took off in the air. Dominick followed.

"If you're trying to impress me it's not working," Mai said to Nick.

"I wasn't trying to," Nick replied.

"Hurry, we have to get to the arena," Dominick said. "If we're too late, then we won't get to see who made it to the finals."

"Oh, so that's where we're going," Nick said, flying faster.

The finals were in their ending stages when the three got there. It was Darren and Mike battling each other. It looked like Mike was winning, because he had more speed. But Darren had good blocking, and he blocked most of Mike's attacks, despite Mike's superior speed. The battle was tied, with both Darren and Mike knocking each other out cold.

"Well, that saves me a lot of trouble," said Mai, walking off.

"Yeah, now we won't have to worry about those two," said Dominick, walking with Mai.

Nick stayed back and watched the paramedics clean up the mess.

"Are you coming?" Mai asked.

"You guys go ahead," replied Nick. "I'm going to stay and check things out first."

Dominick and Mai walked off. Nick watched Mike get lifted to his feet and thrown onto a paramedic stretcher. He was dragged to his room.

Nick's item glowed for a second, and the evil Nick appeared. He teleported down to Mike's door and kicked it open. Mike was still out cold. The paramedics tried to stop Nick, but Nick froze them with his ice powers. He stood, hovering over Mike, gazing at Mike's magical object: the All-seeing Eye. Nick grinned mischievously, reached his hand out, and grabbed the eye from Mike's forehead…

Back outside, Mai and Dominick were checking the times for the next City Nationals match. It wasn't until tomorrow at noon. The match was Fujiko vs. Rick. Dominick said, "I hope Rick is feeling better. I want to see a full-on fight!"

"You're going to get a full-on fight," said Nick, entering the area. "If you fight me!"

Dominick smiled and said, "I can't wait!"

Mai said, "If either of you fight me, you'll wish you were never born."

Nick said, "You wish."

"Let's go train," Dominick said, lifting Mai and flying away. Nick followed.

They flew back to the house, where Fujiko and Rick were training.

"Who's winning?" asked Nick.

Fujiko blocked an energy blast and said, "I am. But when you have healing powers, you can't lose!" He flew into the air and body-slammed Rick.

"I've never seen Rick fight like this," Dominick said, watching as Rick fought. "He seems more determined. I wonder if him losing against that guard made him think he was inferior to us."

"Not a chance," said Mai. "I know Rick, and he would never think that. He's got a lot of pride, but he'd never change his fighting style just to make himself look better."

Dominick walked back inside and flipped on the TV. Mai went in with him and sat next to him on the couch.

"Are you tired?" he asked her.

"No. Why?"

"Just asking."

He sighed and said, "What's going to happen to us in the tournament, Mai?"

"What do you mean? I'm going to beat you all and advance to the World Championships. I don't know about you guys." She flipped back her hair and lay on the couch.

Dominick sighed and turned the TV off.

The next day came faster than anyone thought it would. Dominick and Fujiko went to the arena early to get good seats for the group. Nick, Rick, and Mai were getting ready. Nick was in the kitchen eating some breakfast and Rick was spiking up his hair. Mai was getting her hair ready too. When they were done they went to the arena. Dominick and Fujiko greeted them and showed them where their seats were. They were VIP seats, in front of the front row seats.

"Fighters!!!!" yelled the referee at the top of his lungs. "ARE YOU READY?!!"

The bell for the finals rang, and Fujiko and Rick stepped down to the arena.

"Good luck, guys," Mai said. "You'll need it."

Fujiko and Rick stood in the arena, and then two more people went in.

"It appears there's been a slight change of plans!!" yelled the ref. "The match between Fujiko and Rick has been changed! It is currently a two-on-two match!! Fujiko & Rick vs. Michael & Samantha!! Are you ready?"

"I guess we'll have to fight in the World Championships, then," said Fujiko, smiling. Rick smiled back and then looked at Michael and Samantha. They looked pretty easy. But then Rick noticed something about Michael. He was a demon in disguise! Rick was going to tell Fujiko, but he knew it wouldn't make a difference. So he just got in his fighting stance and prepared for a fight.

"FIGHT!!!" screamed the ref.

Michael dashed at Fujiko and tackled him. While Rick was about to help Fujiko, Samantha tackled him and started pummeling him. Rick kicked her off and hit her with a Light-punch. She came back and threw a Dark-punch at him. Fujiko helped by kicking her in the jaw. Then Michael slammed Fujiko into the dirt floor.

Rick smacked Samantha and blasted her with a Light Orb. She fell back and dissolved into little particles. Then Rick went after Michael.

"Wow, folks!" the ref said. "Rick has just destroyed Samantha in a dazzling move!"

Fujiko and Rick pounded Michael into the dirt floor and blasted him with their special moves. But he wouldn't be destroyed for some reason. Then Fujiko saw one of the magical items in Michael's hand: the Orb of Invincibility. That meant that no matter what they did, Fujiko and Rick couldn't destroy Michael. Michael came back with a ferocious assault, clobbering Fujiko in the head with a punishing fist. Fujiko healed himself and fought again. Rick tried blocking Michael's attacks, but it was no use.

"We have to get that Orb of Invincibility!" Rick yelled, lunging for Michael's hand. He grabbed it and held it down. "Now, Fujiko! Blast it!"

Fujiko blasted the Orb out of Michael's hand and stuffed it in his pocket. Then he and Rick joined attacks and destroyed Michael.

"Fujiko & Rick win!!" yelled the ref.

The World Championships are here…

The World Championships were here, and the group was fully prepared for them. Dominick and Nick had trained for hours straight, Rick meditated, Mai went off to do her own thing, and Fujiko practiced his new moves. A month went by with non-stop training, and what an eventful month it was.

First there were seven separate Zaron attacks in the city. Three of them involved Zaron himself, and the other four were demons and evil monsters. After Zaron was beaten by the group, he absorbed all of his elite guards and became four times as powerful. "You can't beat me on your own," he told them. That's when the group started their extreme training.

Second, there was a weird festival going on all week one week, and some of Zaron's demons captured some people. Dominick and Nick went in to rescue the people, but they were defeated by Zaron himself. They almost were killed, but Fujiko healed them and teleported outside. Zaron surprisingly freed the people, and destroyed all of his demons. But then he summoned an even stronger breed—elite demons. The elite demons were twice as strong as the normal demons, and they started destroying part of the city. Mai, Rick, and Fujiko stopped them by themselves when Nick and Dominick were mysteriously transported to another planet called Karr.

Third, there was a mini-tournament downtown. The group was invited to supervise and be like a security team if things got out of hand. Things got out of hand quickly when twenty-five elite demons attacked. Mai and Fujiko were transported to Zaron's layer. Rick tried to stop them, but he was destroyed. Dominick and Nick transformed to their dark sides and freed Mai and Fujiko from Zaron…

Zaron was enraged and challenged Dom and Nick to a fight. Dom declined but Nick accepted. He fought Zaron and was beaten badly. Dom rescued Nick and transported everyone to safety. Nick regressed to the good Nick, and Fujiko healed him. Dom regressed to Dominick and started searching for the Dragon Gems, the only thing that could revive Rick.

They found nine of the ten Gems, but the tenth one was hidden inside a museum. Nick teleported in and stole it. They wished Rick back to life. Everyone started training harder, and Mai learned to fly, form energy shields, and form energy blasts. The group finished training a week before the World Championships were set to begin. During that week, Dominick spent his time with a girl named Ashley. Nick also found a girl and spent his time with her. Mai went off to do something unknown, and Rick and Fujiko continued training.

The World Championships were set to be played out on Saturday, March 15, 2005. They were supposed to be held on an airplane, but the owner of the tournament, and the current champ, Fredrick, decided to have the tournament on an open battlefield in the middle of the desert. He said that many of the fights were going to need lots of space.

The group arrived at the tournament just in time. The standings were being posted. Fredrick was #1, Fujiko was #2, Nick was #3, Dominick was #4, Mai was #5, Rick was #6, and there were some other weird fighters at the field. One looked like an ancient Egyptian. Another looked like a weightlifter, and another looked like an Indian that hadn't eaten in five years.

"The standings will now be chosen!" Mr. Yak said, pushing a button. A wide cylinder appeared at his side, and he took all of the spheres from the fighters and placed them in the cylinder. He pushed another button, and the spheres began jumping around like Crazy-Beans. Two spheres dropped out and Mr. Yak picked them up. "The first match will be held between #3 and #8!"

"Who is number 8?" Nick asked. He looked around and the Indian guy was raising his hand.

"I am the one you call number 8," he replied, meditating. "I will fight you now."

Nick and number 8 were sent to the battlefield, and the rest of the fighters stood around and watched.


End file.
